Bloody Popcorn Brains!

recipeTuesday October 9, 2012

"I've got to do 'the cube' puzzle on you! It's brilliant and it is spooky how accurate it is" my friend Ute said to me one night. We were having dinner at a crowded Thai restaurant and we were to adjourn to a quieter cafe for dessert afterwards. "Perfect for doing the personality puzzle'!" she said and then qualified her suggestion by telling me "I actually found it in a psychology journal, not a women's magazine."

So over dessert, she took out her red notebook and her pen with a flourish and started to ask me questions.

"First question: there is a desert. Describe the desert to me" she said.

I thought about the first image of a desert that sprang to mind. "Okay...well my desert is obviously sandy, there's a big pool of water there and palm trees. The sun is shining but it's not too hot and there's plenty of water. There are some small hills but they're not too steep" I answered.

She cleared her throat. "Second question: now there is a cube in your desert scene, tell me more about the cube-describe it to me, what is it made of and where is it?" she then said.

"It's a jube on the ground! A small soft, red jube cube covered in sugar" I said recalling my Rubix cube jubes which made Ute laugh heartily.

"Okaaay third question: now there's a horse there, what is the horse like?" Ute then asked me.

"Oh it's a lovely white horse with a nice polished brown leather saddle and brown patches over its eyes so that it doesn't get any sand in them" I said. "Tell me more about the horse" Ute prompted. "Well it's a very well looked after horse with a sweet nature and it is next to the cube" I said describing a horse I had never seen in a desert I had never been to.

Ute surveyed my answers thoughtfully and let out a deep sigh. "Well the good news is that you're not unbalanced" she said, holding the pen against her chin like a psychiatrist.

Ahem. Well perhaps her opinion would have changed after she saw these. Yes my lovelies, it's coming up to Hallowe'en season and I'm so excited! Every October, I plan for my Halloween party and this year's will be full of creepy and kooky fun. This year, we're starting with bloody popcorn brains. I saw it on Pinterest and followed it all the way to the blog from which it came. It was a great idea, I had made popcorn pomanders a few years ago and they were so easy. These would be similar except we would be making two brain halves with a jammy bloody trickle of blood and clots down the centre. They were the opposite of pretty, which is something I revel in after trying to make everything pretty for the rest of the year. They're surprisingly tasty too, especially with the jam down the centre and they have almost a sweet, spongy, chewy quality to them.

Oh and if you were wondering about your own answers to 'the cube' questions, write down the answers to the three questions about the desert, cube and horse on a piece of paper. Then scroll down to find the answers - they're after the recipe below.

So tell me Dear Reader, did you do "the cube" test and was it accurate for you? And do you like doing personality tests and quizzes?

Bloody Popcorn Brains

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes

Degree of difficulty: easy

1/3 cup popping corn

100g/3.5 ozs white chocolate

50g/1.5 ozs. butter

210g/7ozs white or pink marshmallows

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pink, brown and red food colouring

oil for shaping

2 tablespoons plum, raspberry or strawberry jam (the lumpier the better for blood clots - who says that I am well adjusted? ;))

From this...

To this

Step 1 - Pop the corn either in a frying pan or in the microwave (see here on DIY microwave popcorn). In a saucepan, heat the white chocolate and butter on medium heat until melted and then add the marshmallows and melt these stirring these constantly so that they don't catch on the bottom and burn (I had the stove on 5 out of 10 for heat). You want this completely melted and lump free. Add in the vanilla and the colouring-I add in a little pink and some brown just to make it a less "pretty" pink.

Step 2 - Turn down the heat to low (1 or 2 out of 10) and stir in the popcorn and coat the kernels well with the marshmallow mix. Once coated, remove from heat and allow to rest for a couple of minutes while you prep the rest.

I know, they don't look that much like brains...but wait until you paint the blood and blood clots on ;)

Step 3 - Line a large tray with parchment and oil your hands and grab small lumps of the popcorn mix. Shape into half brain shape and then grab another similar sized lump and make the other half of the brain. Stick these together-they will stick easily when warm. Allow to cool and set.

Step 4 - Take the jam and some red food colouring and mix them together in a small bowl. Using a paintbrush, draw a blood line down the centre of the brain-place any fruit lumps in prominent positions.

The answers to the cube quiz are:

Question 1: Describe the desert.

Solution: the desert is how you see the world and life in general. And Ute tells me that she has worried about many a friend who describes a desert as bleak with no life or hope! ;)

Question 2: Describe the cube

Solution: The cube is you. If your cube is in the air, you are a dreamer-on the ground and you are down to earth. The colour of the cube also tells you about your personality (black=elegant, authority, dark side; white=innocence, non judgemental, no strong opinions; red=dominance, love, attention seeker; yellow: playful, optimist, attention seeker; green: prosperity, compassion; blue=knowledge, calmness; purple=luxury, sophistication and brown=stability. A clear cube means that you are transparent and open to others-the opposite and you are a private person. The size of the cube corresponds to the size of your ego-a big cube=a big ego!

Question 3: Describe the horse

Solution: The horse is your ideal partner or current partner and how you behave in relationships. Which is good that I said nice things about the horse because Ute reports people describing their horse as stubborn, annoying or even on occasion, dead! The closer the horse is to the cube shows how distant you are in your relationship. If your horse is active then you want an energetic partner that travels a lot and if the horse stands still then you prefer a partner that is a homebody.